Michelle Lisa

“Expecting people to stop being the way they are because it offends me”? Are you kidding? White trans people and non-indigenous trans POC are still trans regardless of what words they use to describe themselves. And I can 100% expect people to stop stealing my culture, erasing its meaning and importance, and attaching their own interpretation.

Furthermore, it’s not just offensive: it’s oppressive. Cultural appropriation is an example of how colonization continues to today. It’s an example of how indigenous people are erased, disrespected, and devalued. It’s an example of how everything has been, and continues to be, stolen from us.

Two Spirit specifically belongs to indigenous communities. Using it if you’re not indigenous would be similar to a non-indigenous person putting on a headdress because they think it’s pretty. Or do you think that’s okay as well?

There are many words that a non-indigenous trans person can use to identify themselves. Two Spirit is just one that is inaccessible to them. One.

Second, I won’t even go into my beliefs on “cultural appropriation”, because it’s very hard to have opinions on this website. I also really don’t want to start fights because that’s stressful and too much for me to handle. 

I won’t delete this whole reblog thread because: 1) I put a lot of emotional labor into this. To ask me to delete it is an attempt, intentional or not, to silence me. 2) Accountability is important. Before making assumptions about a marginalized person’s statements and trying to shout them down, take a breath and read it again before reacting. When you get called out, own it and do better. An apology is a good start. 3) This conversation could be a good learning opportunity for someone else, and education is paramount in making sure these things don’t continue to happen.

Lastly: don’t put indigenous and cultural appropriation in quotation marks. It’s dismissive, belittling, and really makes this seem like a not-apology.